Planktic foraminifera from ODP Hole 117-723B

Upwelling occurs during the summer off the coast of Oman when the Asian monsoon produces strong southwest winds in the northern Arabian Sea. Ekman transport driven by the southwest monsoon winds upwells cool nutrient-rich waters along the coast which contrast with the warmer, less productive waters offshore. The spatial pattern of foraminifers in the sediments corresponds with the coastal environmental gradient. The upwelling species Globigerina bulloides dominates the sediment assemblage on the continental margin, while Globigerinita glutinata is more abundant offshore, creating a coastal gradient in fauna. We reconstructed the upwelling faunal gradient using high resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy to correlate between Hole 723B on the Oman Margin, and a core from the Owen Ridge (RC2761), adjacent Site 722. A gradient similar in magnitude to the present, implying upwelling conditions similar to today existed during each interglacial time during the late Pleistocene interval from 0 to 300 k.y. The gradient was reduced or absent during glacial times implying diminshed southwest winds along the coast of Oman, not strong enough to produce an environmental gradient between the coast and offshore sites.

Abundance of benthic Foraminifera in the Kara Sea

Taxonomic composition and structure of assemblages of the present-day benthic Foraminifera in the Kara Sea has been studied on the base of 37 samples of surface sediments. Three assemblages have been distinguished by composition of dominant species. The assemblage Cribrostomoides subglobosus-Tritaxis nana with prevalence of agglutinating forms, typical for abyssal areas of the World Ocean, occurs in brown oozes in the deep western part of the sea at depths 70-375 m under conditions of considerable bottom stratification. The assemblage Elphidium clavatum-Cassidulina reniforme consists predominantly of species with calcareous shells and is characterized by a wide range of species; this assemblage occurs in the eastern part of the sea at depths 30-90 m in a well-aerated area. Species typical for sublittoral areas of polar regions are dominant. The assemblage Elphidium clavatum-Haynesina orbiculare occupies the littoral estuarine part of the sea. This assemblage is poor in species and not abundant, and it occurs under influence of freshened water masses undersaturated with dissolved carbonaceous matter.

Coccoliths in phytoplankton of the Eastern Bering Sea in August 2001

Based on results of field observations in August 1998, July 2000, and August 2001 composition and quantitative distribution of coccolithophorids in the middle part of the Eastern Bering Sea shelf between 56°052'N and 59°019'N was characterized. Emiliania huxleyi abundance, biomass, and population structure as well as role of species in the coccolithophorid community and phytoplankton as a whole were evaluated. Abundance of the species in the upper mixed layer in bloom areas was 1-3 mln cells/l and biomass made up 30-75 mg C/m**3. E. huxleyi share in total phytoplankton numbers and biomass at that reached 98% and 84% respectively. Significant spatial heterogeneity of E. huxleyi, quantitative distribution and population size structure, as well as asynchronism in population development in neighboring parts of the bloom area were shown. The time period, during which population structure in certain part of the area shifts from domination of juvenile cells without coccoliths to a phase of active detritus formation with dying coccolithophorid cells involved, may be estimated as two weeks. A conclusion is made that after anomalous E. huxleyi bloom in 1997 mass development of coccolithophorids became a characteristic feature of phytoplankton community's seasonal succession in the middle part of the Eastern Bering Sea shelf.

10Be content s of late Cenozoic sediments from ODP Leg 117

This paper is a comparative study of the variation in 10Be content of different late Cenozoic sedimentary environments recovered during ODP Leg 117. The Oman Margin site, Hole 728A, with overlying high-productivity cells, the pelagic Owen Ridge site, Hole 722A, and the Indus Fan site, Hole 720A, each display a specific 10Be distribution with time. Differences in scavenging intensity and upwelling in the water column, must account for the variations in the initial 10Be input into the sediments from Holes 728A and 722A, whereas differences in sediment character and sedimentation rate can explain the variances between Holes 722A, 728A, and 720A.

Benthic foraminifers, isotopes and varimax factors at DSDP Holes 72-517 and 72-518

Pliocene changes in the vertical water mass structure of the western South Atlantic are inferred from changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages and stable isotopes from DSDP Holes 516A, 517, and 518. Factor analysis of 34 samples from Site 518 reveals three distinct benthic foraminiferal assemblages that have been associated with specific subsurface water masses in the modern ocean. These include a Nuttalides umbonifera assemblage (Factor 1) associated with Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), a Globocassidulina subglobosa-Uvigerina peregrina assemblage (Factor 2) associated with Circumpolar Deep Water (CPDW), and an Oridorsalis umbonatus-Epistominella exigua assemblage associated with North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). Bathymetric gradients in d13C between Holes 516A (1313 m), 517 (2963 m), and 518 (3944 m) are calculated whenever possible to monitor the degree of similarity and/or difference in the apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) of water masses located at these depths during the Pliocene. Changes in bathymetric d13C gradients coupled with benthic foraminiferal assemblages record fundamental changes in the vertical water mass structure of the Vema Channel during the Pliocene from 4.1 to 2.7 Ma. At Site 518, the interval from 4.1 to 3.6 Ma is dominated by the N. umbonifera (Factor 1) and O. umbonatus-E. exigua (Factor 3) assemblages. The d13C gradient between Holes 518 (3944 m) and 516A (1313 m) undergoes rapid oscillations during this interval though no permanent increase in the gradient is observed. However, d13C values at Site 518 are clearly lighter during this interval. These conditions may be related to increased bottom water activity associated with the re-establishment of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the late Gilbert Chron (-4.2 to 3.6 Ma) (Osborn et al., 1982). The interval from 3.6 to 3.2 Ma is marked by a dominance of the G. subglobosa-U. peregrina (Factor 2) assemblage and lack of a strong d13C gradient between Holes 518 (3944 m) and 516A (1313 m). We suggest that shallow circumpolar waters expanded to depths of a least 3944 m (Site 518) during this time. The most profound faunal and isotopic change occurs at 3.2 Ma, and is marked by dominance of the N. umbonifera (Factor 1) and O. umbonatus-E. exigua (Factor 3) assemblages, a 1.1 per mil enrichment in d18O, and a large negative increase in the d13C gradient between Holes 518 and 516A. These changes at Site 518 record the vertical displacement of circumpolar waters by AABW and NADW. This change in vertical water mass structure at 3.2 Ma was probably related to a global cooling event and/or final closure of the Central American seaway. A comparison of the present-day d13C structure of the Vema Channel with a reconstruction between 3.2 and 2.7 Ma indicates that circulation patterns during this late Pliocene interval were similar to those of the modern western South Atlantic.

Stable oxygen isotope record and lithogenic composition of ODP Hole 117-722B

The upper 38 m of Hole 722B sediments (Owen Ridge, northwest Arabian Sea) was sampled at 20 cm intervals and used to develop records of lithogenic percent, mass accumulation rate, and grain size spanning the past 1 m.y. Over this interval, the lithogenic component of Owen Ridge sediments can be used to infer variability in the strength of Arabian Sea summer monsoon winds (median grain size) and the aridity of surrounding dust source-areas (mass accumulation rate; MAR in g/cm**2/k.y). The lithogenic MAR has strong 100, 41, and 23 k.y. cyclicities and is forced primarily by changes in source-area aridity associated with glacial-interglacial cycles. The lithogenic grain size, on the other hand, exhibits higher frequency variability (23 k.y.) and is forced by the strength of summer monsoon winds which, in turn, are forced by the effective sensible heating of the Indian-Asian landmass and by the availability of latent heat from the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. These forcing mechanisms combine to produce a wind-strength record which has no strong relationship to glacial-interglacial cycles. Discussion of the mechanisms responsible for production of primary Milankovitch cyclicities in lithogenic records from the Owen Ridge is presented elsewhere (Clemens and Prell, 1990, doi:10.1029/PA005i002p00109). Here we examine the 1 m.y. record from Hole 722B focusing on different aspects of the lithogenic components including an abrupt change in the monsoon wind-strength record at 500 k.y., core-to-core reproducibility, comparison with magnetic susceptibility, coherency with a wind-strength record from the Pacific Ocean, and combination frequencies in the wind-strength record. The Hole 722B lithogenic grain-size record shows an abrupt change at 500 k.y. possibly indicating decreased monsoon wind-strength over the interval from 500 k.y. to present. The grain-size decrease appears to be coincident with a loss of spectral power near the 41 k.y. periodicity. However, the grain-size decrease is not paralleled in the Globigerina bulloides upwelling record, an independent record of summer monsoon wind-strength (Prell, this volume). These observations leave us with competing hypotheses possibly involving: (1) a decrease in the sensitivity of monsoon windstrength to obliquity forcing, (2) decoupling of the grain size and G. bulloides records via a decoupling of the nutrient supply from wind-driven upwelling, and/or (3) a change in dust source-area or the patterns of dust transporting winds. Comparison of the lithogenic grain size and weight percent records from Hole 722B with those from a nearby core shows that the major and most minor events are well replicated. These close matches establish our confidence in the lithogenic extraction techniques and measurements. Further, reproducibility on a core-to-core scale indicates that the eolian depositional signal is regionally strong, coherent, and well preserved. The lithogenic weight percent and magnetic susceptibility are extremely well correlated in both the time and frequency domains. From this we infer that the magnetically susceptible component of Owen Ridge sediments is of terrestrial origin and transported to the Owen Ridge via summer monsoon winds. Because of the high correlation with the lithogenic percent record, the magnetic susceptibility record can be cast in terms of lithogenic MAR and used as a high resolution proxy for continental aridity. In addition to primary Milankovitch periodicities, the Hole 722B grain-size record exhibits periodicity at 52 k.y. and at 29 k.y. Both periodicities are also found in the grain-size record from piston core RC11-210 in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Comparison of the two grain-size records shows significant coherence and zero phase relationships over both the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities suggesting that the strengths of the Indian Ocean monsoon and the Pacific southeasterly trade winds share common forcing mechanisms. Two possible origins for the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities in the Hole 722B wind-strength record are (1) direct Milankovitch forcing (54 and 29 k.y. components of obliquity) and (2) combination periodicities resulting from nonlinear interactions within the climate system. We find that the 52 and 29 k.y. periodicities show stronger coherency with crossproducts of eccentricity and obliquity (29 k.y.) and precession and obliquity (52 k.y.) than with direct obliquity forcing. Our working hypothesis attributes these periodicities to nonlinear interaction between external insolation forcing and internal climatic feedback mechanisms involving an interdependence of continental snow/ice-mass (albedo) and the hydrological cycle (latent heat availability).

Grain size distribution of Oligocene and Miocene sediments from the Indus Fan

The Owen Ridge south of Oman represents oceanic crust that was uplifted by compressional tectonic forces in the early Miocene. Build-out of the Indus Fan led to deposition of a thick sequence of turbidites over the site of the Ridge during the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Early Miocene uplift of the Ridge led to a pelagic cap of nannofossil chalks. Two short sequences of turbidites from the pre- and syn-uplift phases were chosen for detailed grain size analysis. The upper Oligocene section at Site 731 is composed of thin (centimeter-decimeter scale) graded mud turbidites separated by relatively thick (decimeter-meter scale) intervals of homogeneous, non-bioturbated clayey siltstones. These finer intervals are unusually silt-rich (about 60%) for ungraded material and were probably deposited as undifferentiated muds from a series of turbidity current tails. By contrast, the lower Miocene section at Site 722 is comprised of a sequence of interbedded turbidites and hemipelagic carbonates. Sharp-based silt turbidites are overlain by burrow-mottled marly nannofossil chalks. The Oligocene sequence may have accumulated in an overbank setting on the middle fan - the local topographic position favoring frequent deposition from turbidity current tails and occasional deposition from the body of a turbidity flow. Uplift of the Ridge in the early Miocene led to pelagic carbonate deposition interrupted only by turbidity currents capable of overcoming a topographic barrier. Further uplift eventually led to entirely pelagic carbonate deposition.